


Determination - SasuNaru FF

by hobifoeva7



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Naruto is Just Naruto, Rating May Change, Romance, Uzumaki Naruto is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:41:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28131858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobifoeva7/pseuds/hobifoeva7
Summary: Naruto wants to become a professional gamer. He wants to become on of the most renowned players of a Japanese Overwatch team. Talented Japanese Overwatch players have become sparse, but they individually are very skilled. Umino Iruka, Naruto’s father, is not so keen on the profession of gaming for a living, so, the two make a deal:If Naruto can get into a qualifying game and win, Iruka will let him continue. If not, it’s off to college for Naruto.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. Recognize

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Heather and Ocsko](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Heather+and+Ocsko).



> Hihi~! This is my first fanfiction but I have experience writing in the past. Just be warned that I like to go a little fast. If things get confusing for you, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading! (๑˃̶͈̀o˂̶͈́๑)

___________________________________________

The male held his wooden bow tightly in his hands. He peered out behind the wall, making a small shot in the protected area in the battleground. He needed to get there. He hit an enemy figure. An animated skull appeared in his eyes. It signaled that he got a kill.  
“Behind you!”, a voice called out. He turned around quickly and darted to the left. Sure enough, a sniper was standing behind him and aiming to kill him. He thanked his teammate and then shot the Widowmaker, making sure to dodge her shot first. 

Widowmakers were known for their skill in shooting once and killing instantly. He knew not to mess with them, but this Widowmaker didn’t play well enough to kill him. He darted out into the battlefield, heading over to the main objective. Six enemies stood in front of the area. They needed to secure that point. With the rest of his team following, they rushed the enemy team.

After a moment of heavy silence, a man lets out a sigh of relief. There was a man sitting in front of a computer screen on the floor. He sat on a pillow, and he had a wired small microphone taped to his cheek. His hair was a golden blonde, and his ocean blue eyes were intensely focused on the screen. It was a small room he was in.

“Good game guys.”, the blonde-headed man says. He looks at the clock on the computer screen. _1:07 am._ His character went out of focus, and the word “victory” appeared on the screen. 

“Naruto?”, a voice asked in his headset. It was one of his friends that played with him mostly. The blue-eyed man, who was Naruto, responded: “You down for another game guys?” He leaned back to stretch a bit from the uncomfortable hunching.

“Actually that’s what I wanted to talk about with you. Me and the rest of the team… We want to quit.”, his friend responded and Naruto was a bit confused. 

“Haha don’t be so serious. I need to sleep anyway. We can play tomorrow.”, Naruto said nonchalantly. His friend sighed and another voice spoke up:

“What he means is, we don’t want to play video games anymore. Not today and not tomorrow. We are going to college soon. We need to focus on other things.”

Naruto gulped. He felt really awkward. “But-”, he sputtered. 

“What he said is right. We want to focus on school instead of Overwatch. You should too.”, another voice said. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t understand. _But we always play together. Who would I play with now?_

“I see.”, he spoke. He cheered up quickly though. “It’s alright. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just do my own thing!”

The voices began to chatter again, and Naruto said goodbye to them for the night. He turned off his small laptop, and he turned to his bed.

Naruto felt a bit defeated as he fell onto the mattress. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to this though. A lot of people gave the college excuse to Naruto. Although he did know they made a good point, his stubborn mind didn’t allow him to give up for such stupid reasons. He had a goal. He was gonna become a part of the top Japanese Overwatch team and win, so he couldn’t just give up like that. 

Sleepiness took over his thoughts. He struggled to keep his eyes open and then sighed. He shook out of his fantasies and flipped over onto his side. He tucked the blanket around his body and fell asleep snuggly. 

Naruto blinked open his eyes groggily. The sun shone in his face from the window above his mattress. Looks like he fell asleep. He groaned and sat up from his messy bed. He looked at his room with squinted eyes. His room was small. A bed was tucked in the right corner, and his gaming setup stood right beside it. His clothes were thrown all over the floor, and his closet door was open. His closet stood a mere four inches away from the mattress that was tucked against the two walls. Beside the closest was the hallway door. Naruto got up and shuffled out of his bedroom. He walked into the bathroom, thinking nothing than about taking a piss. After doing his business, he washed his hands and stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. A very tired Naruto stared back at him. He grabbed his toothbrush and then began to brush his teeth. He walked out into the hallway while brushing in a circular motion. He walked into the kitchen of the apartment. He squinted at the light and felt a pat on his head.

The blonde-headed male looked up at the hand and trailed the arm to a darker-skinned male with a scar across his nose. 

“You look tired Naruto. Were you staying up all night to play video games?”, the man asked. Without thinking, Naruto nodded a yes. His eyes quickly widened and he shook his head no vigorously. This man was Iruka, Naruto’s adoptive dad. When Naruto was young, his parents both died in a car accident. He didn’t specifically miss them. He never knew them. Iruka was a good father figure to Naruto anyways. He took care of Naruto well, but Iruka didn’t like that Naruto spent long hours on video games. Naruto grabbed a plastic cup from the cabinet above the counter and filled it with tap water. 

“Yes.. and no?”, the man asked. Naruto cleared his mouth and replied:

“No no! Iruka! I’d never play all night again after what you said!”. Naruto put a hand against the back of his head. His adam’s apple bobbed from anxiety. 

“Is that so? Then why are you wearing the same clothes from last night!”, Iruka announced and Naruto yelled out in fear. Naruto tried to dodge the hit to his head, but Iruka was fast. 

“Naruto, you can’t be gaming anymore. You need to focus on college. Focus on applications.”, Iruka spoke as Naruto moved over to the small dining table. “About that…”, Naruto sighed. His focus was on his hands. 

“Don’t pick at your hands.”, Iruka said and Naruto fidgeted his hands in obedience. Iruka opened the fridge and grabbed a few things. Iruka eyed Naruto. “What were you going to say?”, Iruka asked and the blonde-haired male gulped. Iruka moved to the stove. There was already a hot pan on one of the burners. Iruka was laying bacon down. Naruto adjusted his body in the wooden seat. He then listened to the sizzling from the meat on the stove. 

“I want to be a professional gamer.”, Naruto spoke finally, and confidently met Iruka’s eyes.

“You can’t”

“I can.”

“How do you know you’ll succeed?”

“I’ll succeed.”

“How do you know _that_ ?”, Iruka asked. He was suspicious if Naruto could _actually_ be professional. Naruto’s sky blue eyes narrowed. He was very determined. 

“I just know.”, Naruto spoke in a deepening voice. Iruka sighed, rubbing his eyes in thought. Naruto was a very stubborn person. If he set his mind to something, it would take a meteor to hit the Earth and kill everyone before he’d give up. Even then, Iruka doubted Naruto would give up. The scar-faced man held his chin. “Fine.”, Iruka spoke. Naruto let out a victorious ‘yes’ in a half whisper while pulling his fist to his chest. Naruto did almost start to dance.

“I have an exception though.”, the brown-haired man said. Naruto paused his motions and listened with a bit of a hesitant expression. 

“You have one year. One year to win a qualifying competition. If you do that, I’ll think about it. If not, you’re going to college.”, Iruka said. It was a moment of silence before Naruto yelled, “Fuck yea! You won’t regret it Iruka!”, Naruto called out. He began to hop around excitedly. A breathy chuckle left the scar-faced man’s lips and he let his shoulders fall in defeat.

 _‘There just is no arguing with Naruto.’_ , Iruka thought. He then cleared his throat. 

“It’s fine now. Eat. You’ll be late to work.”, Iruka said. 

___________________________________________

After that conversation, Naruto was even more excited to get to work. The more money he was able to pile up, the better equipment he could get. But before that, he needed a team. For professional ESports, you needed people who were as good at the game as you are. You also have to be as serious about the game as the rest of the team is and the same for the opposite side. So far, Naruto wasn’t really good at finding determined teammates. 

As Naruto walked down the sidewalk of a street in Hamamatsu, his thoughts were distracted with the events that happened last night. That _was_ his team. He didn’t have another team. With a huff, Naruto knew that he would either have to find a new team or get back with his old one. He didn’t want to find an entirely new team, but he knew that his old team…

 _‘My old team is busy.’,_ Naruto thought. It was true. Most people who played with Naruto were either intimidated by his skills or didn’t like his personality. It was tiring to try to find people who wanted it as much as he did. 

He snapped out of his thoughts just as he arrived at his job. It was a small library. Many people came to get a job there because of the benefits with college textbooks. This is exactly why Iruka applied for him. Naruto wasn’t complaining though, for the pay was surprisingly decent. It helped him buy a new mouse for his laptop in only a few weeks of saving. 

Naruto entered the building with a black backpack. He made his way to the front counter, smiling and greeting the librarian, who was behind the counter, and then made his way to the back room. 

“Naruto-kun~!”, a shrill voice called. He felt arms wrapped around his neck. He put his nose into the corner of her shoulder and the woman’s neck, taking in her smell. 

“Sakura-chan.”, Naruto said, taking a step back to look at the pink haired women. She was Naruto’s closest friend. Sakura had a flowery aura around her and cared about every single detail. She was strong and witty. Naruto wrinkled his nose at the woman. 

“I totally forgot you were coming back today Sakura. How was your surgery?”, Naruto asked and Sakura pretended to be offended with a small scoff. Sakura had gotten knee surgery after dislocating her knee several times. Naruto didn’t know all the details, but he did know that the doctors told Sakura that it was better to have a surgery than to lose her leg. Sakura sighed in content. 

“It’s all alright now! My doctor told me that after a few weeks of physical therapy I should be fine.”, Sakura replied and Naruto nodded. His eyes lowered to the cast on her leg. “Are you sure you’re okay to come back to work?”, Naruto asked and Sakura nodded. 

“Yes my doctor gave me permission to work.”, Sakura spoke and then she leaned closer to Naruto’s face. ”Well… What about you? Did you tell your dad about your ideas?”

A small flush appeared on Naruto’s cheeks. 

“Yeah I guess he’s letting me try to be professional.”, Naruto said and Sakura cheered. 

“That’s great news Naruto!”, she exclaimed and Naruto felt giddy. It’s always been a big dream of Naruto’s, and he’s been nothing but fearful when it comes to telling Iruka. He was so glad that everything worked out well. There was more work to be done of course, but this small victory was amazing to Naruto. 

The door to the back room opened, and their boss, the lady from the front, appeared. 

“I understand the excitement, but let's be a bit quieter. This is a library for a reason.”, their boss spoke. Naruto nodded quickly. 

“We should get to work.”, he murmured to Sakura. She nodded, agreeing, and they exited the room for work. 

Naruto’s work consists of organizing books, games, comic books, movies… almost anything you could think of in a library. Naruto also was responsible for leading customers to their desired location of genre, author, or book. While doing that, Sakura had to wait behind the counter. She was responsible for checking out or in materials in the library. After exactly four hours of work, _sometimes more_ , Naruto would switch with Sakura. 

Now, Naruto was doing exactly that. Naruto sighed and leaned on the surface of the counter. He had a book propped up against a computer. The book was a romance/thriller. It was about life in a zombie apocalypse, which was something Naruto was interested in. He liked the idea of the Earth just _starting over._

His eyes scanned over the page. He was getting more excited about the chapter he was on, but then he heard a customer approach the counter. 

“I’d like to check out this book.”, a deep voice spoke. Naruto sighed. He didn’t want to leave the book’s world and go on his own.

“Name?”, Naruto asked, reluctantly shifting his focus on the computer to type. His focus was not on the customer at all. 

“The account should be named Uchiha Itachi.”, the voice spoke. Naruto nodded and typed it out. He clicked on the account and turned to the front of the counter. Naruto paid no attention to the customer, and grabbed the book from his hands. His eyes lit up suddenly. The title of the book was _The Art of Overwatch_. 

Finally, he met the male’s eyes. The customer was dark-haired and had almost black eyes. He was a bit taller than Naruto and had a bored expression. Naruto’s heart raced with anticipation. 

“You like Overwatch?”, Naruto asked. The other man kept his same expression though, seeming to not care about Naruto’s excited tone. 

“No. This is for my brother.”, the dark-haired male responded. Naruto raised an eyebrow. He was half thinking that the other male was lying, and the other part of him thought the male was telling the truth.

“I bet the book is for you.”, Naruto spoke. 

“It’s for my brother.”, he responded. 

“And what’s your brother’s name?”, Naruto asked.

“None of your concern.”, the dark-haired male said and Naruto made a small ‘tsk’ing noise.

“Well tell your brother that _Hanzo_ is the best tank in the game.”, Naruto responded. He bagged the book and handed it over to the male.

“ _Hanzo_ is a sharp shooter, not a tank.”, the customer responded. 

“How would you know? I thought you didn’t like Overwatch.”, Naruto said. His eyes glinted. Naruto knew this exactly. _Hanzo_ was his main character anyways. _Hanzo_ was known for using a bow, being able to double jump, and, like most characters in Overwatch, having medium to extreme power ups. _Hanzo,_ after a short period of time, could shoot five arrows quickly and precisely without drawing time. _Hanzo_ then could summon a horizontal tornado of wolves by shooting once in any direction. Anyone from the enemy team took damage within that area. It was a formidable attack, and it took awhile for _Hanzo_ to be able to use it. _Hanzo_ was definitely not a tank. Tanks are known to absorb damage to protect the other teammates. _Hanzo_ is better with having protection.

The male took the bag and looked at Naruto with the same bored expression. 

“Just because I don’t like the game, doesn’t mean I can’t know about the game.”, the male responded. “Overwatch is a stupid game. Grow up.”

Naruto felt heat rising off his back. Grow up? That was stupid. Video games weren’t childs play. If you take it seriously, it’s quite difficult. He was about to retaliate when the male turned away from him. 

“H-Hey! You can’t say something like that and just walk away!”, Naruto called out and the dark haired male turned to him. 

“I just did.”

Naruto gritted his teeth and almost chased after him. _Grow up?_ Wow. 

It was always his favorite thing to pick on customers. He loved watching them leave with flustered expressions. This customer was different. He was genuinely annoyed and wanted to punch that stupid scowl off that customer’s face.

Naruto scanned over the account name. It had no profile picture. A flash of the male’s face appeared and he frowned.

“Uchiha Itachi, huh?”, Naruto murmured, deep in thought. “What an asshole.”

___________________________________________

A few days had passed since then, and Naruto was walking down the street. He was on the hunt for lunch. He had talked to Iruka about his profession on Monday. It was now Saturday. Usually he’d eat and hang out with Iruka, but Iruka had to work. Naruto’s stomach rumbled loudly and he sighed loudly. 

“I know… I’ll feed you.”, he said, petting his stomach fondly. Naruto looked up expectantly at the street signs. Naruto wasn’t really picky with his food choices, but he preferred to eat ramen. After a while of searching the street he walked down, he noticed a small cafe. Even though he craved ramen, his stomach growled. He then decided. He would eat there. 

When he entered the shop, he sat down at a random table. He didn’t necessarily care about the area. 

Soon after Naruto sat, a waiter came up and asked for his order. Naruto had done a small amount of relishment on the menu, and replied with something he thought looked attractive. The waiter wrote the response down, and left Naruto waiting for his meal. Naruto began to inspect the building. 

The table’s were all the same to him. The cafe was small and had two floors that were visible to the eye. The second story was more like a balcony anyways, and it only sat customers. The building was decorated nicely inside. There were potted plants in almost every corner of the room, and small LED lights decorated the balcony’s railing. There were booth seats around the cafe on the first floor. The booths were a navy blue in color and made a nice contrast to the area. One booth in particular was to Naruto’s left, there sat a figure hunched over what seemed to be a book. 

Naruto’s eyes lit up. It was the guy from the library! Naruto then remembered his words from that day and frowned. His gaze stayed on the male for so long that he didn’t notice that the black-haired male was looking at him too. Naruto’s eyes widened and then he looked disgusted. He then turned his nose away.

An idea popped into his mind.

Naruto got up and walked over. He sat across from the male. The black-haired male was still hunched over the book, but he seemed more protective of it now that Naruto arrived. Naruto keened his eyes to look, and caught a glimpse of the pages. 

“I thought Overwatch was for _kids_.”, Naruto mimicked. The male made a ‘tsk’ noise and scrunched his nose. 

“I have nothing else to read.”, the male responded. 

“I thought that was for your brother?”, Naruto asked. 

“It was for my brother.”, the male said, not looking at Naruto directly. 

“Then what is a _grown up_ doing with a book like _that_?”, Naruto asked and the male raised an eyebrow. 

“I already told you. I’m bored.” the male replied with an annoyed expression. Naruto sat down with his own permission. 

Naruto leaned over the table onto his hand. “Itachi right?”, Naruto asked.

“None of your concern.”, the unnamed male responded. 

“Hm. You like to say that a lot.”

“It really isn’t your business though.”

“Well then. Unnamed man. Want to join my team?”, Naruto asked, bringing himself up and leaning back against the cushioned seat. His food arrived and he began to drink his latte

“You don’t even know if I’m good.”

“I could train you.”

“I don’t want to join. You could be bad at the game.”, the dark-eyed man said. 

“Fine I’ll ask your brother. Give me his information.”, Naruto said.

“No.”

“Why not?”, Naruto asked and the male murmured something. “Now you’re the child, muttering something no one can hear.”

“He doesn’t play Overwatch.”, the male responded. “And I certainly don’t want to play _with you.”_

Naruto’s eyes narrowed.

“I thought the game was for children.”, Naruto spoke and the other male rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah it’s for children when you act like this.”

Naruto leaned back on the booth and stared at the other man. His food arrived and he nodded at the waiter. 

“You’re… really annoying. You know that?”, Naruto said to the other male. 

“If I’m that annoying then leave me alone.”

“Can’t do that.”

“And why not?”

“None of your concern.”, Naruto responded and the dark-haired male made an annoyed face. 

“How about a proposition?”, Naruto asked.

The dark-haired man sighed, “What.”

The male was already exasperated from this conversation. He just wanted Naruto to leave. 

“Let’s play a game. I’ll set it up.”, Naruto said. 

“We can’t do multiplayer.”, the male spoke. 

“I didn’t think you wanted to.”, Naruto said and took a bite of his sandwich. The other male sighed. 

“Don’t worry it’s not multiplayer. Show up at the X-Arcade. Tomorrow night. 21:00.”, Naruto said. The other male frowned. 

“Hm. What if I don’t want to go?”, the male asked. “What’s in it for me?”

Naruto sighed.  
“I’ll do whatever you want if you win. If I win, you have to join my team.”, Naruto responded. The male’s ears perked at that. 

“Do we have a deal… Uchiha?”, Naruto asked.

“It’s Sasuke.”, the dark-haired male responded and thought for a moment as Naruto took the last bite of his sandwich. “Fine, I’ll take you up on your deal.”, Sasuke responded, waiting for Naruto to finish eating.

“I’m Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto.”, Naruto said. 

___________________________________________


	2. Preparation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello (:  
> I lowkey got busy cause of the holidays and shit, and then I was unmotivated for a while.   
> I'm back now and I'm ready to make this work.

* * *

“Naruto. You can’t be serious.”, Sakura spoke. Naruto nodded. The action wasn’t acknowledged because he was talking with Sakura on the phone. while scrolling on his laptop. He adjusted the device against his ear. 

The lit screen showed pictures of the X-Arcade. Naruto scrolled through the homepage and clicked on  _ booking _ . He was intending on comparing the prices of several deals for access to the area. 

“Sakura? Should I go with the $15.99 per hour--with snacks provided, or $5.99 an hour--but I provide my own snacks?”, Naruto asked absentmindedly. Sakura sighed. Naruto placed the phone on his desk. He made sure to hit ‘speaker’. 

“Well, you’ll probably spend more with the $5.99--but knowing you, the snacks provided for $15.99 won’t be enough. Go with $5.99.”, Sakura replied. Naruto nodded and clicked on the offer. 

“Naruto, you hardly even know this…”, Sakura trailed off, forgetting the name. Naruto said a quick “Sasuke” and focused back on the screen. 

“Sasuke. You don’t even know him. What if he steals from you? What if he calls his bodyguards to hit you after you defeat him in a game of Overwatch?”, Sakura asked and Naruto chuckled. 

“If those things happen, I guess I’ll just have to live with it.”, Naruto responded. Sakura was usually intense about things like this. She was a paranoid person.

Naruto looked at the time on his laptop.  _ 21:00 _ . It was Saturday night. Naruto was on edge. He wanted completely destroy Sasuke in Overwatch. His thoughts moved to that cocky expression. It needed to be crushed. Naruto laughed evilly and popped his knuckles.  _ Sasuke crying _ . That would be fun to see. 

Sakura huffed. “You might as well invite me. I’ll be there to protect you.”

Naruto shivered. Sakura was surprisingly very strong for her slim body. Once Naruto had accidentally tripped into her breasts. One hit caused a hospital trip. Making up a story about it was difficult--especially with the red hand on his cheek.

“I guess you can come then.”, Naruto said, his Adam's apple bobbing. 

“Alright. Send me the address. I’ll be a decent bodyguard.”, Sakura said.

“Sakura. I  _ am  _ an adult. I’m almost twenty. I think I can take care of myself now.”, Naruto said with a soft laugh. Sakura ignored that and continued talking: 

“Naruto? Do you have plans for forming more of the team?”

Naruto began to fill out personal information on the screen. He thought for a moment and looked at his phone screen as if he was looking directly at Sakura. 

“Yeah. I was thinking about holding auditions of sorts.”, he said and Sakura made a small noise of approval.

“That sounds great Naruto. Do you want any help from me?”, Sakura asked expectantly. Naruto pursed his lips. 

“Nah I got it.”, he said without thinking. 

“What do you mean about that, huh? Do you think I’m not  _ qualified  _ enough to help you out?”, Sakura objected. 

Naruto put his hands out in a defensive manner. 

“N-no no-no! That’s not what I meant-”

“Oh, so you think I can’t do it right, huh? I’ll have you know that I am extremely proficient in whatever I do-”

“Sakura! That’s not what I meant at all.”, Naruto said worriedly. Sakura laughed lightly on the other side of the phone. 

“Silly Naruto. I’m just teasing you. Your flustered reaction was so cute.”, she said. Naruto sighed in relief. 

“Thank god. You had me scared.”, Naruto explained. Naruto entered his credit card information into the website. Technically it wasn’t  _ his _ credit card, but he was the one paying it off. It was under his father’s name. Naruto remembered trying to get it under his own name, but he hadn’t been 18 years old yet. Iruka just made one for Naruto to pay off himself. He’s had it ever since. 

‘ _ I should get it changed soon. _ ’, he thought and then turned his attention back to Sakura.

“What about you Sakura? Anything interesting happening?”, Naruto asked, curiosity spiking. 

He could practically see Sakura’s face flush up. She didn’t like to be put on the spot. 

“Well… I did meet a girl.”, Sakura said and Naruto made a soft ‘ooo’ing noise. “Shush it, Naruto.”

Yes. Sakura was a lesbian. A very shy lesbian at that. He didn’t care to find out her type. Not like that was any of his business though. 

“You’ll have to introduce me sometime.”, Naruto said with a cheeky smile. 

“Yeah, yeah. That’s if it works out.”, Sakura spoke. “Alright, I’ll have to let you go. My mom is pestering me about her too.”

Naruto laughed deeply and nodded. 

“Alright. I’ll update you about it tomorrow.”

Silence filled his bedroom, and he stared at the computer. ‘ _ Being gay seems so difficult. _ ’, Naruto thought and sighed. That probably wasn’t a very ‘ally’ thing to think. ‘ _ Probably homophobic’,  _ Naruto thought. After he was done with his  _ interesting  _ thoughts, he scanned his laptop. 

The screen was showing ‘confirmed purchase’. Now all he needed was an audience. 

Naruto smiled. 

‘ _ Wouldn’t want Sasuke’s talents to go unnoticed of course.’,  _ Naruto thought sinisterly. 

___________________________________________

It was Sunday morning. Naruto had awoken early, got a small cup of coffee at a local shop, and then went for a jog after finishing the drink. Being interested in the gaming field, he knew that keeping in shape was important. Iruka would reprimand him if he didn’t keep in shape anyway. As he jogged onto a familiar street, his music got the better of him. Being distracted, he bumped into another person. He put his hands on the other’s chest and shoved the person away. Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked up at the male. The height difference wasn’t too 

“Watch where you’re going!”, the figure spoke. Naruto scowled and looked at the figure in the eyes. The figure was a taller male. He had dark and thoughtful eyes. His gaze was precise and intimidating to Naruto. Naruto’s eyes scanned over the male’s spiky ponytail. He wondered exactly what made the man have such a funky hair-do. 

_ ‘How does he look good with that?’, _ Naruto asked himself. An image of himself with the ponytail made him snicker. The man leaned closer to Naruto, poking his finger on his head. 

“I don’t know if this idiot can hear me or not. I’m asking if you know if you’ll pay for this.”, the male questioned and Naruto looked at the mess on the male’s green shirt. It seems like when they bumped into each other, the other male spilled his coffee all over his green shirt. 

Naruto’s posture became defensive and he scowled back at the male. 

“And just who do  _ you _ think you are?”, Naruto asked, slapping away the finger. “Questioning me with your finger on my head... If anything, it’s your fault! There’s always the possibility of bumping into someone and it spilling. Why didn’t  _ you _ protect it enough?”, as Naruto laid into the stranger, bypassers looked over at the commotion. 

“What a drag.”, the male responded. “I guess you’re correct.”

Naruto was taken aback. 

“Wait...? Th-that-that’s right! I am right! You owe me now for that!”, Naruto sputtered. He didn’t quite expect the other male to admit it so quickly. If he were in the other’s position, he was for sure that the incident would’ve ended in a fight and a trip to the hospital. 

The male put a hand behind his neck and smiled half-heartedly. 

“Sorry. I’m Nara Shikamaru. We should talk about it over something to eat, huh?”, Shikamaru said. Naruto nodded slowly as if he were trying to convince himself to go. He began to trail beside Shikamaru, wanting the male to choose the location. 

“I’m… Uzumaki Naruto…”, Naruto spoke cautiously. Shikamaru chuckled and they walked across the street to shops on the other side. Naruto noticed Shikamaru didn’t seem very interested in the law. They had jaywalked. 

“We might have a lot in common, considering your overwatch merch.”, the spiked male said. He gestured to Naruto’s top.

Naruto’s face lit up with excitement and he nodded quickly. Shikamaru was exactly right. Naruto’s hoodie had a picture of wings. Specifically, the character’s wings were Mercy’s. Mercy is a healer. Healers are in charge of keeping the team alive but are not automatically at fault if a teammate dies. In cases where teammates die, usually, it’s the fault of the other players in the team. There are cases where there is terrible healing too, but it’s mostly the former.

“Yeah. Who do you play?”, Naruto asked. His full attention was on Shikamaru now. The spiky-haired man thought for a moment. 

“Well, I dabble in a lot of sorts of characters. I mostly play Ana. “, Shikamaru replied while gesturing his hands. “I’m not any good though.”

Naruto analyzed Shikamaru with a curious eye. The blonde-haired male chuckled.

“That’s alright. It’s a game for fun. But… I take it a little more seriously.”, Naruto spoke, feeling confident in his abilities. The two arrived at a small cafe and Naruto recognized it as one he and Iruka regularly went to. The two entered the building and Shikamaru smirked at Naruto. 

“What, so... you’re a professional?”, he asked and Naruto sighed a bit. 

“Trying to be. I have a competitive match later today.”

“A competition?”

Naruto and Shikamaru sat at a table and began to scan the menu. After deciding on something that seemed good, Naruto leaned on his hand.

“Yeah. Some asshole challenged me and now we made a deal. If I win, he joins my developing team. If he wins, I have to do as he wishes.”, Naruto explained, a fire in his eyes. Shikamaru nodded and pursed his lips. They both received their drinks and took a moment to think. 

“Naruto?”, Shikamaru asked while taking his attention off the cup and onto the blond-headed male. Naruto looked over at the male and said:

“Yea?”

“Do you think it’d be cool if some other friends and I join the fun?”, Shikamaru asked. Naruto was surprised. 

“Thought you weren’t good at Overwatch?”, Naruto asked and Shikamaru smiled. 

“Never said I couldn’t watch.”, he responded and Naruto laughed. 

“Sure come along.”

“Thanks. My friends get sick about ESports and can hardly get enough of Overwatch. I think seeing a professional play would let them see how much gaming really means to people.”, the brown-headed male said, taking a sip of his coffee. Naruto suddenly felt a little nervous about the competition. He felt his palms get clammy. 

‘ _ Me? A professional? Not yet. _ ’, he thought to himself. 

The rest of the meeting went smoothly. Naruto got Shikamaru’s information and Shikamaru got his. Then Naruto told Shikamaru the location, the time, and the rules of the competition. 

Shortly afterward, Naruto went home and took a nice shower. By the time he got out of the shower, it was almost 6 pm. Naruto thought it was as good enough a time as any to make his way over.

___________________________________________

Naruto made it over to the arcade. He had spent all morning buying snacks, and now he was carrying in several grocery bags of snacks and drinks for the competition. He knew he would be focused on the game instead of food, so the snacks were for the people attending the game and watching. 

In most cases, Naruto often had to bribe people to hang out with him. He still often does. There were many cases in the past where he had nothing to offer to people, so they left him. Now, he had people who were genuinely interested in the stuff he was doing. Naruto entered the building, turning to the front counter. 

“Hey. I reserved a private room. Should be under the name Umino Iruka.”, Naruto spoke. He wasn’t allowed to order his own private room because  _ technically _ , he could bring alcohol into the room and he isn’t even twenty. 

The man behind the counter nodded and tapped a few times on the keyboard. He then nodded in confirmation and turned behind himself to grab one of the many keys that hung on the wall. 

“Sir, right this way.”, the male responded and Naruto nodded and followed closely behind. 

Minutes later, Naruto had a table set up in the room. He had arranged large liter bottles of soda, bags of chips, and other smaller snacks. The room itself was a lot larger than Naruto expected, and he was delighted by this fact.  _ Room for more people _ . There were four computers that sat in front of them that were lined up against the wall. The screens were faced towards the orangeish paint job. 

Naruto, when choosing the rooms, thought it was weird that the screens were facing another direction. Because, wouldn’t it be harder to watch a game commence if the screens were pressed against a wall? Naruto walked over to the middle of the room and turned on the projector. 

He wasn’t sure how it was exactly set up, but the projector was hooked up to project the gamer’s screens. When Naruto saw this online, he had almost cried out in excitement. But he had remembered that Iruka would probably kill him for yelling that late. Especially since his father was working the next day. 

Naruto sighed in contempt and walked over to his seat behind the computer screen. He looked at the time.  _ 20:04.  _ That meant he had around thirty to forty minutes before he needed to go inside and invite his guests inside.  _ Hm… Would I have enough time for a quick overwatch game? _ Naruto clicked on the launch app and stared at the screen as it loaded up. 

_ It’ll be fine if I play one game. _

___________________________________________

It was most definitely not fine. Naruto burst out of the room. The game took a lot longer than he had expected. He walked up to the front desk with a flustered expression. A group of people sat waiting. His eyes met theirs individually and he chuckled. 

“Sorry about that. I got caught up in a game.”, Naruto explained to the faces. There were only two faces he recognized from the small group. Seems like his other friends decided not to come.  _ Sakura? _

Naruto scanned the group. She wasn’t there.

“You’re late to your own party? How  _ professional _ .”, a voice spoke. It was Sasuke.

“Oh shut up. You’ve been nervous this entire time.”, another voice called. Naruto looked at where the voice came from. It was a female. She had long and beautiful blonde hair, and her eyes were greenish-blue, and she had a dominant presence about her that made Naruto a bit surprised. 

A man stepped in front of the blonde-headed girl, just blocking her shoulder with his own. 

“Ah Naruto, these are my friends I was talking about.”, Shikamaru spoke and Naruto nodded. The spiky-haired man pointed at the blonde girl. 

“This is Yamanaka Ino, she mains Mercy and Sombra.”

Ino waved politely at Naruto and he bowed his head respectfully at her. 

Shikamaru turned his attention to his other friends. 

“This one is Inuzuki Kiba. He mains Reinhart. Yes, he carries the dog everywhere with him. Yes, we pay extra.”, Shikamaru said in a defeated tone. Kiba grinned at Naruto. The male had brown hair and a boxy smile. His eyes were sharp. His dog stood beside him on the floor. The dog was white and yapped at Naruto. The blonde gave an uneasy smile to the dog. 

“Yo.”, Kiba said with a wave to Naruto. 

‘ _ I’ll bet that dog will pee on everything _ ’, Naruto thought. Shikamaru then pointed to the last in the group. 

“This is Hyuga Neji.”, Shikamaru stated. Neji was brown-headed. He was wildly good looking and his eyes looked so determined that Naruto was super positive he played a tank. 

“I play Zarya.”, Neji spoke, looking at Naruto with his pink eyes. 

Naruto gulped and bowed his head again. 

“Nice to meet you all. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Uzumaki Naruto. You can call me Naruto. I main Hanzo.”, Naruto spoke.

Neji's body leaned towards Sasuke. "I'm assuming that this bum is the one you're up against?"

Sasuke's jaw clenched. 

"The only one who is a bum is you", the dark-haired male said. 

Ino snickered. "He's funny. What's your name, bum?". Sasuke glared at Ino. 

"It's Sasuke.", Naruto spoke up. "He's not a bum. Just a bit annoying is all."

“Yeah? Great introductions. Can we get to gaming?”, Kiba asked whiningly. 

Naruto rolled his eyes. 

“Alright alright. Chill out.”, he spoke and Kiba smiled widely. He led the group to the room and showed them the snacks and the setup. 

“Sasuke and I will play here. Our screens will show through the projector.”, Naruto said. “We will play two competitive games on PC. Whoever gets more kills, gets one point. Whoever does more damage gets another point. Lastly, if we win a game, five points. The person with the most points after two games wins.”

He looked at the group. They looked excited about the match. Naruto’s hands grew clammy again as he approached Sasuke. Naruto’s eyes met Sasuke’s dark ones. He narrowed his brows with a challenging expression. 

“Guess you better not lose.”, Naruto spoke. 

“Yea it’d be pretty embarrassing to lose to a wimp like you.”, Sasuke said. 

Sasuke lifted his chin and looked down at the male. Naruto could see how his teeth clenched and how the muscles moved. 

For some reason… 

_ his heart moved _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omfg thanks for reading (:  
> I have a twitter page if you want to spam it lmao.   
> @ttys_4

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god you made it to the end.  
> ヽ( ᐛ )ノ  
> Ill try to do my best with updating. I'm a bit of a procrastinator.  
> Here's my twitter if you want to blow me up about posting (つ︿◕｡)  
> Twitter:  
> @ttys_4


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